The Bass Clef
by SjelThief
Summary: Listen to a punk song, or metal, or whatever real, decent music tickles your fancy. The bass is practically always steady in the background, keeping away from the spotlight, while the guitar happily screeches, gladly soaking up attention. He was the bass, she was the guitar. He was the animal dealer, she was Allen's younger sister.
1. Chapter One - Sweet Hydrangea

**Chapter One – Sweet Hydrangeaaaa**

* * *

Neil groaned in his pillow, turning up louder the music blaring through his headphones. He shifted around, cursing the awkward angles he had to hold until he simply settled on lying on his back. He wasn't a foreigner to the charismatic farmer's newly-found architectural hobby, but it did bother him that this time, Henry's project was only a few yards away from his home. It was past midnight, and the farmer was still hammering away at the wooden structure, an electric saw buzzing here and there amongst the loud bangs.

The irony of the situation did not escape him; he could fall asleep to loud death metal as some sort of twisted lullaby, but not construction field noises.

The next morning came way too slowly. Neil was actually glad that it was his day off, because as he absent-mindedly stirred his black coffee with a thin wooden stick, he could barely keep up with Rod's enthusiastic blabber. Apparently, the strawberry blond was blind to people's moods, yet that did not surprise him much. Why else would Rod keep talking to him? He glanced outside, his gaze catching the violet hydrangeas blooming on the restaurant's counter.

"—oh, you should have seen the look on her face: priceless! Lyli really is calm and all, but I don't know, she scares the hell out of me—"

Neil would have fallen asleep, were it not for the added red-haired guest at their table that said, "I still can't believe she's moving here! My baby sister!"

The sleepy animal dealer grumbled out, "Sister? If she's anything like you, I'm moving out."

Allen scoffed, "He actually has a sense of humour," he mockingly breathed to Rod.

Neil rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his deliciously bitter coffee. That's when Henry decided to pop in the restaurant, dusting his hands on his overalls. He spotted the group of guys nearby and sat next to Neil, since he was alone on his side of the table.

"Hey guys!" he still managed to cheerfully greet them. He didn't look much better than Neil, sleep deprivation-wise.

"Hey!" Rod practically sang. "You done with her studio?"

Studio? Neil perked up at the words, though he was still glaring daggers at his coffee for no apparent reason. What kind of studio?

"Yep; shop, studio and upstairs. She just needs to send over her furniture and she's all set," the farmer-turned-architect boasted, obviously proud of his work. "Does she have a recoding thing...? you know, that thing with all the buttons and all the switches?"

Allen thought about it for a second, before he said, "Nah, just the weird microphones."

"Why?" Rod inquired instead.

Henry, sighed as he explained, "I searched high and low for a decent one that fit the panel I made. Still don't have it."

"Don't beat yourself up, dude!" Rod exclaimed, trying his best to reassure him. "She'll find one, she's good like that!"

Neil mentally pointed out that the pet seller had previously admitted Lylli terrified him, yet he didn't care enough to actually voice what he thought. He quietly sipped his coffee once more, which was slowly growing colder. He contemplated if he should buy another one — to go, this time.

When Felicity came by to grab the two new arrivals' orders, he was grateful for the brief silence that followed as the two guys decided what to take. Neil rubbed circles into his temples, tightly shutting his eyes for a second. He wondered who many more people would come to claim Echo Town as their home. It wasn't because he was annoyed at all the new noise — he was actually glad that it was slowly gaining back the lively atmosphere it had in his early childhood. He hid that simple fact, of course.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He blinked a few times. straightening up slightly.

"I said, I figured you'd like a new neighbour, so I built her house near yours," Henry apparently repeated for the animal dealer, a smile bright on his features. "Besides, the village's getting crowded, I need to concentrate buildings in the main area," he added with a sheepish shrug.

Neil's facial expression stayed impassive as he yawned, "Yeah, I get it." He honestly was too tired to care either way. He wasn't a morning person, and his recently imposed insomnia clearly didn't help. He was just glad he would get a good night's sleep this time around.

A few moments later, the blonde left the gold for his bitter coffee on the restaurant's table and walked out of the establishment. He headed towards the forest, as he always did on his days off. One the way back home, he passed by the newly-built house. What was her name again, Lily? Yeah, that was what Rod said. He didn't know about the weird spelling he would sure have despised. He would have thought it was only stylized since the girl liked it better that way, it was more original. He would have found that completely stupid.

He did respect her for her apparent love of music, though, as he had gathered. He shook his head, he didn't even care all that much honestly. Once the door was closed behind him, he decided to shut off early in a small attempt to not be tired the next day; he had to work.

His work day came and went quickly, boring as it always was behind his stall, but he did enjoy the time he got to spend with his animals in the meantime. Once he reached his house, he noticed the new girl had already moved in and was crouched near her home's outside walls, occupied with flowers. Oh, she was planting them. He headed straight for his front door, not at all in the mood for small talk, yet he glanced her way once more before he entered. She was smiling, and her lips moved as if she was singing. She caught his gaze and waved, though he did not stick around much longer to see her resume her work as if nothing happened.

He had expected her to say 'hi' or something like Rod did each time their paths crossed, or maybe a snide comment like Allen often threw his way. He wasn't expecting a simple, friendly wave. One other thing he did not expect was her hair colour. She wasn't a blood-redhead like Allen; rather ebony black, tips dyed navy blue. She also had a fringe that passed right above her eyes. Allen's baby sister? She looked barely younger than him...

He scowled at the empty air before him, and he headed towards his room, taking off his bass from its hook, on the wall. He turned on his amplifier, playing simply because he felt like it.

* * *

" _Sweet hydrangeaaaa,_ " a certain girl sang, borrowing a melody from Avenged Sevenfold. " _You smell so gooood! And don't you dare think you don't belong heeere, yeaaah._ " She patted the dark earth right above the purple flower's roots. " _Oooh, it's your freaking nightmaaaare!_ " She laughed at her own antics, moving on with the next flower. " _While your nightmare comes to liiiife!_ "

She carefully took the roots out of their plastic container, sticking mycorrhiza all over the compact roots and earth. She also dumped a generous amount of the plant-friendly fungi in the hole she had previously dug up for the blue plant. She gently placed the flower in the hole, carefully filling it up with the pile of loose earth all around it.

In her peripheral vision, the new girl caught sight of something red and gold. She turned her head to get a better look at it. It was young man, maybe about her age, looking at her. She waved, figuring it must be Neil, her new neighbour. She liked his fashion sense — no, that was an understatement. She blinked in surprise when he glared at her and quickly entered his house, but smiled afterwards, continuing her diligent work with her plants.

Rod had playfully warned her about the peevish young adult. She dusted her hands on her dark jeans, planning on taking a little cranberry and lime lemonade break.

But then she heard it.

It was faint, but she definitely recognized the muffled sound of an electric bass. She glanced in Neil's house's direction, slowly walking up to its side. She closed her eyes, the music slightly louder, as she followed the quick succession of deep notes with a wild smile. She guessed he'd be into AFI, if he didn't know them yet, with all their complex bass melodies.

She stayed for a second song, but then she left for that lemonade break. She pushed open the glass door of her store, the overhead bell echoed with a soft chime. The floor was made out of very dark hardwood, while most of the furniture was white as snow. Cold-coloured flowers were the only decoration, if you didn't count the various large band posters hanging from every empty charcoal-painted walls, the back one navy blue. She breathed in the sweet air, remembering the atmospheric snow-capped mountain air freshener she had sprayed earlier.

A few good-quality black speakers hung from high up on the walls, and she fiddled for a few seconds with her phone to hook them up with bluetooth, playing a song she had stuck in her head. Two rows of electric guitars and basses were hung on the left wall, arrayed by colour, with the black and white ones on either ends. Classic guitars hung from the ceiling to create some sort of nearby row, amplifiers of various sizes to the ground below. On the room's opposite side, hundreds of CDs were openly displayed in rows, classed by genre, and again by artist.

This was her music shop, _The Bass Clef._

"Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun!"

* * *

 **A.N.  
**

 **Old story I once took down, since it wasn't that interesting story-wise. Recycled my OC, whom I had previously named 'Iris', but since there's this bachelorette now in Story of Seasons with that name, I changed it. Gah. I freaking loved that name...**

 **Criticism is much appreciated~! This one's short, but meh. Tell me if it's worth continuing~! :3**

 **Anyways, I've always imagined Neil to have Gideon Emery's voice, what do you think? Accent and all. If you don't know how he sounds like, type 'Fenris and Varric party banter' on youtube. Gideon voices Fenris, the Elf. :3 He also voices the male crusader in 'Diablo: Reaper of Souls'. (Totally didn't create a male character just to listen to his voice, nooo ;3) And Gideon in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare~**

 **Have a nice day!  
** **~SjelTheif**


	2. Chapter Two - Cool Breezes

**Chapter Two ~ Cool Breezes**

* * *

Even though the shop had already been unpacked and mostly decorated, upstairs was still littered with brown cardboard boxes. Henry, who she had learnt had built her home, had taken that opportunity to show her the nooks and crannies of her new home, hidden storage areas and technical stuff she needed to know. Allen and Rod had also managed to rope a few more people, namely Felicity, Iroha and Tina, into helping her out a bit. After they left, Allen's sister had decided to plant a few flowers outside, just to keep her house from looking too bare until she properly landscaped to her liking.

Most of her windows were wide open, sweet air wafting inside her home. The sun had already set a few hours ago, though restless as she was, she was still diligently unboxing under bright white lights. The breeze gently tousled her mussed up locks of hair, weaving through the steady bass rhythms and cheerful guitar solos, not to mention the slow low whines of a single violin. It felt cool as it ran along her skin, making her smile as she relished in its embrace.

The city had nothing on the countryside.

She hummed along with the music's lyrics and even with the melody as the singer's voice fell silent, focused on alphabetically organizing by author the books she currently had under her hand. It was amazing how music could turn a task simply so boring into something actually quite enjoyable. That was how she got through math in school, on second thought…

Glancing out the window, she noticed her blond neighbour was home, back turned at his closed window as he played with an electric guitar this time. She didn't mean to stare, but the guy was pretty easy to see with his own light turned on in the darkness, even if she was one floor higher than he was. Her windows were practically her walls, and she noted she'd need to be careful about what she was wearing in her living room in the evening, if she could see into other people's houses that easily. She hadn't thought that ultra-modern style through… She'll need curtains.

The girl stood up, dusting imaginary dirt from her dark jeans before she grabbed a pile of a few organized books, heading straight for her bookcase. As she placed her things to her liking, she thought about Neil, unsurprisingly. Sure, Rod often spoke of him to her — even when she hadn't yet been planning on relocating — though it seemed more to her like enthusiastic blabber than him actually talking about his new friend for her own information. Now that she had seen Neil in person and not just a low-resolution, furtively-snapped picture sent over text message, she had to admit she found him to her liking.

Allen's sister glanced at her analog watch, deciding she'd have a cup of coffee: even though midnight was fast approaching, she was nearly done with unpacking her various memorabilia. She took out her phone from her jean pocket and whimsically skipped a few favourite songs of hers simply because she 'did not feel like listening to them right now' as she headed towards her nearby kitchen, wireless speakers comfortably blaring away on the counter island.

Neil's red irises were alluring, in her opinion. Coloured contacts briefly crossed her mind, reminding her of her own little phase, though even with her limited information of the guy she really didn't think he was the type to wear some of them. Besides, Rod had assured her red was his real eye colour… Then why didn't he look like an albino? She remembered reading once that their skin, lacking melanin, was pasty pale and prone to many problems and diseases. Neil's healthy sunkissed skin heavily contradicted that, so… She sighed, shaking her head.

Stirring her freshly-made espresso, she smirked at herself. And she had thought herself above petty crushes, more inclined on liking someone after she got to know them. As she did during high school, she planned on just ignoring and suppressing it. Taking a sip of her coffee, the new girl walked back into her living room, heading for the large tank embedded into one of the charcoal walls. At first glance, it could seem empty, since there was no water in it, but if that were to happen, tragedy would befall upon her; it wasn't a fish tank.

"Hey there, Lyli!" the girl cooed, resting her side against the wall as she sipped at her espresso once more with a soft smile. "Hope you like your new home," she then softly sang.

The large dark blue arachnid — the famous Lyli — was busy toiling away, burrowing its new shelter, which greatly amused its owner. Only its hind legs were still visible. There were a few simple leafy plants growing inside the stretched glass tank, while the few inches of well-chosen soil caking the tank's bottom was hidden away behind the wall, sparing eyes from noticing the plain ol' earth.

Allen's sister watched her tarantula for a few moments, as a mother would watch her playing child, before she decided her little break had lasted long enough and it was back to finding the best places for her various memorabilia. It occurred to her then that her brother had insisted on styling her hair first thing in the next morning. She had missed having her older brother gently massaging her scalp, not that she'd admit it to him aloud. His ego was inflated enough as it was. She had seen other stylists while he was away, though none compared to him, in all honesty.

A few hours later, she was already off in her dreamworld.

After a healthy breakfast with her brother the next day, the stylist had made her sit down on one of his salon chairs and had started to work. A soft, flowery smell hung loosely in the air, incense slowly smoking near the two siblings as slow violin melodies softly resonated as ambiance music. It was then buried by Allen's hair dryer, as drenched locks of black hair were blown dry.

"Still won't wholly colour your hair blue?" the hairdresser mused with a slight smirk as he put away the hairdryer. He grabbed a hairbrush and started to pass it through her hair.

"Heh, nope," she cheerfully replied, popping that last syllable. "Unlike you, I don't want to colour my roots back every other day," she teased, looking at her brother in the mirror.

"I see your laziness' still running strong..." he ironically trailed off with a wider smirk. "Must have developed a strong cardio by that point."

The girl crossed her arms, eyes narrowed in teasing amusement as she swiftly countered, "Says the man whose ego's grown tenfold."

He rolled his eyes, though he still smiled. "I'll let it slide since it's you," he smugly commented.

"Ooh, I'm honoured," she laughed, obviously sarcastic.

The two siblings continued catching up as Allen styled his sister's hair, only to be interrupted by their childhood friend, Rod, as he opened the salon's door and immediately whined, "Hey, no fair! You promised, Vi!" He walked up to the confused pair, his features pulled into an awkward pout as if he was struggling not to smile at the same time.

"What, exactly?" Allen's sister inquired with a sheepish smile, her cheek muscles pulled upwards. She promised her brother she'd visit him in the morning, while she promised Rod she'd spend time with him _later_ today… What was up with him?

"I'd have the whole day to show you 'round the forest..." Rod supplied, though he bounced back rather quickly as he enthusiastically added, "It's a good thing Neil noticed you head this way, or I'd have given up!"

"Rod, it's only ten in the morning," Allen said, ignoring what the strawberry blonde had added after his explanation. "When did you think I'd fix this albatross' nest?" he asked instead, incredulous, earning himself a light punch on the arm from his younger sister. "What? Admit you were a mess the minute I moved out, little flower."

"Oi, watch that ego of yours," she riposted, playfully whacking him once more on the arm. "While we're at it, don't call me that; you promised."

Rod, who was propped up against the wall, facing them by the side of the mirror, snickered.

"I promise lots of things, my little flower," Allen quipped, smirking.

The pet-seller had now embraced full-blown laughter, giving an end to the two siblings' friendly squabble as they joined him as well. The hair stylist put down the hairbrush, only to grab a hair product compressed into a spray can and effectively spray some of its contents on his sister's hair. It smelt like sweet coconut and jasmine flower, the scent she had often chosen as a child.

"There," he proudly exclaimed, his work of art done. "It should prevent knots and keep your hair shining all day long," he explained as he stylishly tidied up the material he had just used. "All set for your date."

"Heh, you wish," his sister smirked, sliding off the high chair.

"Hey! I'd make a great boyfriend!" Rod childishly defended himself, crossing his arms half-heartedly. His smile was a traitor to his staged indignation.

She drawled a hum in response, her head teasingly thrown back as she said, "I'll be sure to tell Iroha that."

The pet-seller froze as he took a step back, blinked a few times as a pink hue coloured his cheeks. He frowned at Allen, half-shouting, "I told you to keep it quiet!"

"He didn't tell me," she admitted, amused, before her brother could reply. "Besides, it was pretty obvious yesterday. She even barely managed to unpack anything since you kept doing stuff for her." He pouted, which this time really seemed genuine, so she added with a light smiling sigh, "I can try and give you some advice, as a girl."

"Really?" he lit up, his puppy eyes shining bright neon. He was so easy to predict… yet she found that an amusing part of his cheerful personality.

"Note I said 'try'," she nonetheless confirmed, index fingers raised in the air to emphasize herself. "I'm no mage."

"Violet, you lost him," Allen pointed out, Rod's ear-splitting grin testimony to his drunken state. "You'll regret telling him that, trust me."

Violet, for this was the girl's name after all, dismissively shrugged as she jabbed a finger in Rod's ribs. "Come along, Pond."

He shook his head, sobering up, and simply ignored her antics. As she pulled open the salon's door, Rod following behind, Allen shouted, "I want you two back before midnight!"

"Yeah, yeah, _dad_ ," she still replied, barely able to muffle her laughter. Once outside, she turned to her best friend and started, with a particularly fancy British accent, "Whence art the whereabouts of this forest thou speak of with such passion?" She wasn't even sure if she was properly speaking, but that wasn't the point. She missed this.

"'Tis over hither, milady," the other played along, mock-bowing.

"Ever the gentleman, I see. Such a shame blindness ails thou…"

"Eh..." Rod started, though he kept character as he inquired, "How can a blind man possibly lead a lady such as yourself to a forest...?"

Violet let out a posh laugh. "With his trusty canine companion, of course!" She faked incredulity as she added, "Or have thou managed to meet silly me without the simplest of aid?"

"Oh! You're right, dude! It would be awesome if Toby came along!" he excitedly exclaimed, darting for his humble cottage.

The girl sighed a and shook her head, yet still smiled with amusement. "...And the moment's gone," she chuckled to herself, following after the strawberry blonde.

The door to Rod's cottage had been left ajar and Violet pushed it open, bearing witness to an adorable dog enthusiastically wagging its tail at its owner, mercilessly licking his laughing face.

"Eww…" she drawled, wrinkling her nose. "Why do dogs always feel the need to _lick_ everything that comes their way?" she rhetorically asked, since the other had ignored her slightly disgusted exclamation.

"C'mon boy, we're going to the forest!" Rod cooed, standing up and slapping both his hands on his thighs as he talked to his dog. "This is Violet. Nice to have a face with the name, eh?"

The girl giggled, a hand covering her lips. "You two are just too adorable," she gushed as she crouched to pet the dog herself.

Toby was a gorgeous golden retriever, unsurprisingly sprightly considering who his owner was. Rod had a few more dogs, smaller ones that were probably off galavanting somewhere, not to mention a few solitary cats if her memory served her right.

"Ready, Vi?" he asked her.

"One minute!" she exclaimed as she got back up, before wildly running her hands through her hair, getting rid of its straight lines. "There," she sang. Rod raised an eyebrow, amused, as Violet put a finger on her lips and shushed. Her brother would have her head if he knew she always mussed up her hair on purpose.

The two of them hurried to the forest's entrance, the sweet air reminding the girl exactly why she had come to this far-away village; nature's intoxicating purity. Rod showed Violet a beautiful clearing, where a large log, smoothed over with time and use, was simply lying there. It gave her an idea. A few ways away, they walked past a river and Violet insisted on staying there a few minutes to practice skipping rocks. She didn't manage to succeed, but it was a fun diversion nonetheless.

Once at the top of the mountain, past a wonderful pond, her breath caught in her throat and she shouted a 'hey', only to have it echo back a few times at her. She made up one of her infamous cheesy quip with the name of the town, which practically always made the pet-seller laugh. She promised herself she'd spend as much time as she could there, just taking in the scenery. The cool breeze smugly snaked around Violet's skin, contentedness ruling over her smooth features.

"Hey, Rod?" she softly blurted out, glancing back at him from the breathtaking mountains. "Thanks, I really appreciate what you did to help me out."

He laughed, wildly smiling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "No worries, Vi!" A few seconds of silence passed by before he added, "I'll introduce you to Neil sometimes soon, alright?"

"Looking forward to it," she replied, smiling too, only to look back at the scenery before them.

"Okay, so, about Iroha…"

Cue amused eye-roll.

* * *

 **A.N.  
** **Any criticism is welcomed with open arms!**

 **Have a nice day!  
** **~SjelTheif**


End file.
